Abstract
The crop gland test for the lactogenic hormone as performed by-Lyons and Page, 1 the local feather test for estrone by Greenwood and Blyth, 2 and the intravaginal test for estrogenic substance by Yerby, 3 serve as examples of the efficacy of the local application of a hormone for analytical purposes. The application of progesterone to the uterus has been shown by McGinty, Anderson and McCullough 4 to be a more sensitive test for its presence than introducing the hormone into the blood stream.
Previous biological assay or test procedures for the presence of progesterone have involved the subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of the hormone over a period of 5 days, removal of the uterus on the sixth day and subsequent histological examination of the uterus. The criterion of the activity of the hormone of the corpus luteum was the degree of progestational proliferation in evidence in the uterus. The test for progesterone as described by Corner and Allen 5 utilized as test animals bilaterally oöphorectomized mature rabbits. The degree of proliferation in the uterus was expressed by them in terms of + to + + + + reactions, + reactions being those of least progestational proliferation.
Clauberg 6 and later McPhail 7 modified this procedure to the extent that immature rabbits were used as test animals. These animals were primed with subcutaneous injections of estrone for a period of days preceding the intramuscular injection of progesterone. Immature rabbits as treated by Clauberg and McPhail were found to be more sensitive to the presence of progesterone, since divided daily injections totalling 0.5 mg brought about a uterine proliferation equal to injections totalling approximately 1 mg in the mature rabbit.
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